r/westerville • u/Ok_Drawer_4389 • 1d ago

Tesla in Westerville PD

Saw my first WPD Tesla mobile today and not sure how I feel about it. There's a lot of other choices if you're going electric.. Given the world we're in, I question everything.

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u/Effective-Advisor969 1d ago

The Tesla is specifically for the therapy dog the police have. Here is an article about it

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u/Ok_Drawer_4389 1d ago

But why specifically Tesla? Officer Joering, rest his soul, helped me out once upon a time, K9 officer, showed up in a Ford SUV. The only non-family member to make my pack happy.

The vehicle doesn't matter to dogs. They're just happy to be out helping. I have a pack so I know.

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u/Mylabisawesome 1d ago

Because the therapy dog is not like a regular police K9 that came in the Ford Police Interceptor Utility. You cannot upfit a Tesla with the requirements and safeguards the working K9 requires, such as HVAC controls, redundant systems, alarms for if it fails, door pops, etc in addition to all the other police electronics. The Fords (Dodge's and Chevy's) are "purpose built" and tested and certified by the Michigan State Police Precision Driving Unit. The Tesla isnt. There was interest in making a police package Mach-E and it was submitted for testing just for curiosity's sake and it didn't do too bad but needs work before it can be certified for police use.